


Buggered

by VioletArroyo



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Anger, Angst, Doctor Bashir I Presume, Episode Related, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 05:57:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/683624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VioletArroyo/pseuds/VioletArroyo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The reason they didn’t see much of each other in the last few seasons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Buggered

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This is way too serious and I was in a very bad place when I wrote it. There's a couple swears, but I'm not rating this teen up, because frankly, if you're younger than 13 and reading this site, you probably already know those words. Again, I have no beta, so take this as is.
> 
> Disclaimer: They're not mine. I just play with them for therapeutic relief.

“Bed whats?!”  
        Julian rolled his eyes. “You can’t tell me Cardassia has no parasitic insects. The Chief was just complaining about how those voles of yours we still get on occasion carry some kind of flea that gets into the wiring, so not only does he have to deal with them chewing it up, he has to use insecticide, which means he has to take an antitoxin for the neurotoxin in the spray, and then he gets an allergic rash from the antitoxin.”  
        Garak looked at him sidelong, a slightly exasperated expression forming, “My voles, Doctor? Really, you’re the last one who I’d expect to make me the resident scapegoat for all things Cardassian. I am sorry the Chief was so inconvenienced, though. Cardassian fleas are bothersome creatures and rather hard to eliminate without chemical intervention, which I know Humans object to.”  
        “It was kind of funny, actually. You should have seen the look on Keiko’s face behind his back at dinner, while he was explaining how much he was itching and where. She was trying so hard to keep from laughing at him and kept winking at me. I had a hard time keeping myself properly sympathetic. And you’re not a scapegoat for me, but you’ve certainly presented yourself as the exemplary Cardassian often enough that I’d associate you with Cardassia itself…and whatever pests it has.”  
        Garak widened his eyes slightly and Julian smiled a tight smile of triumph. After five years of lunchtime debate, the younger Human could now deliver a line loaded with as many connotations as his wily companion and he was glad to see that one hit home. The “tailor” was annoying the hell out of him today. There had been an undercurrent to their clipped conversation all through lunch, something they hadn’t spoken of yet, something Julian _knew_ Garak was waiting to pounce on so he could go in for the kill.  
        Garak took a moment to finish chewing, swallowing slowly as he always did. _Damn him and his methodical nature. He’s going to start the dissection any second. Just get it over with, damn you!_ Garak washed the swallow down with a quick sip of his tea, never breaking eye contact with the doctor, letting him know a reply was forthcoming. Julian sucked in his breath and sat back as Garak put his napkin back on the table and leaned forward slightly. _He’s not going to let it slide. The lie is too big. He wants to call me on the hypocrisy._  
        “Cardassian pests tend to stay far from our beds. We’re rather good at ensuring nothing… _uncomfortable…_ penetrates our private chambers. It would be considered the height of weakness, to admit you didn’t _know_ something like that was feeding on you until after the fact.”  
        Julian felt the sudden urge to look anywhere but at Garak. _Oh, you loaded that full, didn’t you? Even I couldn’t miss it. God, to return to the obtuse greenie I once was._ He forced himself to maintain the conversational distance, no longer looking the older man in the eyes, but not looking away, either. _Alright, you want to play, two can play, Garak._ He leaned toward the table again, his forearms held up, hands folded one atop the other, using the wall they formed to signal the physical distance between himself and Garak. He steeled his resolve before looking straight into blue eyes that were far too clear to hide as much as they did.  
        “Well, for the most part, we’re able to keep them out, but they do occasionally make it on a starship and end up spreading quickly. Once they’re detected, it’s much easier to get rid of them than it used to be. When we were still naïve in our attempts to… _control_ …the bloodsuckers, we employed rather toxic chemicals until we figured out the solution was worse than the problem. It is annoying, however, to wake up and realize you’ve had something so… _vampiric…_ in your bed and then have to deal with the marks they leave. Some people are terribly… _allergic_ …to those kinds of bites. It can tend to make a person paranoid for a while afterwards.”  
        For once, the first time in five years, Garak had the grace to break eye contact before the intensity killed them both. Fiddling idly with a fastening on his tunic, he spoke abruptly, the words spilling out in a very un-Garak-like rush.  
        “I suppose your parents were lucky to have departed the station before this little outbreak. I do hope the bed…bugs…didn’t come in on their ship.”  
        Julian didn’t look away. Garak looked steadily down, the words burning in the space over the crumb-strewn table. _Fuck you, you old cynic. I should hate you, right now. Why do I just feel…sad? You, of all people, should have understood this._ The doctor removed his arms from the table, sitting up straighter, placing his hands on his knees, prepping his muscles for a rise from his chair.  
        “No, my parents were gone by the time this problem occurred. The bugs just showed up on the sweep today, after I diagnosed Ensign Wither’s bite symptoms. She likely brought them back with her from her leave on Earth and she just got back yesterday. “  
        “So, you caught it early. I guess this means we’ll all be spared the inconvenience of a parasitic infestation, thanks to your ministrations, once again. What a… _brilliant_ …young man you are. We’re all so lucky to have you as our station’s physician.”  
        Julian exhaled slowly. _So. That’s it, then. Have it your way. You’re going to make me hurt, right now, while I’m already stinging so badly? Fine. Be empty. See if I care. I don’t need this._  
        “Yes, well, thank you, but just doing my job,” Julian said as he rose from the table, clearing his dishes onto his tray. “I have to get back on shift,” he muttered, just within the range of Cardassian hearing, not giving Garak a chance to respond, stalking quickly to the reclamation unit to drop his tray and continuing swiftly away from the Replimat, not allowing himself a look back.  
        As the doors to his office in the Infirmary locked behind him at his command, he let himself slump against the wall. He suddenly felt an itching on his arm, and swiftly scrunched up his jacket and undershirt sleeve to find a series of three small bumps and slightly reddened skin. The pattern was exact. He didn’t need to test them. He knew what it was. They’d have to treat the whole station, now and quarantine all ships for the rest of the day to treat them, as well.  
         _Damn bugs. As if I didn’t have enough things draining me dry._ He let the unconscious instinct overpower his mental control, for just a moment, and gave in to the urge to scratch. It made the little bite blisters sting, popping them, making them worse than before. _Typical. Even when the original problem’s not my fault, I somehow manage to make it worse. Filthy buggers. Parasites. Feeding on me. Leaving me empty._  
        _Damn it, Garak, of course I lied._


End file.
